Attorney
Rutland, Vermont, 05701
Heather provides practical and proactive advice to leaders and management teams regarding a wide range of labor and employment issues, including workplace planning, hiring, performance management, legal and recordkeeping compliance, leave management, employee engagement, policy development and implementation, union avoidance or collaboration, collective bargaining negotiations, discipline and discharge. In an employment context, the best defense against legal claims begins well before any claims are made – with positive and continuous employee engagement, good education for supervisors and managers, fair and consistent practices, and solid documentation.
As one of the Firm’s commercial litigators, Heather proficiently identifies the key aspects of a complex legal dispute, developing strategies to accomplish a client’s objectives, and implementing those strategies in a streamlined, cost-effective manner. Heather’s relevant experience in commercial litigation includes: employment matters, contract negotiation and litigation, collective bargaining arbitration, fiduciary obligations, technology related issues, collections, lender liability, foreclosure, bankruptcy, bankruptcy-related litigation, debt restructuring, construction, insurance coverage and professional malpractice defense. Her experience includes a broad practice in federal and state courts at the trial and appellate levels.
Heather has practiced in the financial and restructuring industry for nearly twenty years and is frequently involved in out-of-court restructurings and has considerable experience in the areas of commercial finance and litigation and matters involving secured creditors, mergers and acquisitions. In addition to her work for personal and organizational debtors, Heather has represented creditors’ committees, trustees, and creditors in reorganizations under Chapters 11 and 13 and Chapter 7 liquidations.
After graduating from the University of Houston, Houston, Texas, in 1993, with a B.A. in English Literature, Heather graduated magna cum laude from South Texas College of Law in 1998. Heather has served as briefing attorney to Justice David Richards at the Court of Appeals for the Second District of Texas (1998-99) and as law clerk to the Honorable Colleen A. Brown, the United States Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Vermont (2004-06).
She is active in the Rutland, Vermont, community where she resides with her family. She has served as a member of the Board of the Rutland Free Library, an officer in the Union Book Club (2008-present) and assists with Operation Bundle Up (2014-present).
